Bride-to-be killed by blood clot after 20-hour flight

By Richard Savill

12:00AM BST 23 Oct 2000

A BRIDE-TO-BE collapsed and died from a blood clot condition known as "economy class syndrome" a few minutes after disembarking from a flight from Australia.

Emma Christoffersen, 28, died from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) believed to have been caused by sitting for several hours on the 12,000-mile flight to Heathrow from Sydney. Medical experts said she was one of the youngest victims of DVT, a sudden illness caused by lack of movement over a sustained period that claims the lives of a number of airline passengers each year.

Yesterday, her family urged airlines to do more to warn passengers of potential health risks. Her mother, Ruth Christoffersen, said: "I want every air passenger to know the dangers of this condition and that it can hit young people. It seems to strike at random and in a way is just like Russian roulette."

Miss Christoffersen, a Marks & Spencer sales assistant, of Newport, South Wales, was returning from a three-week trip to Australia with her best friend, Rhian Bevan, 28. The trip included a visit to the Olympic games. Within minutes of her arrival at Heathrow after the 20-hour flight on a Qantas jumbo, Miss Christoffersen complained of feeling unwell.

She lost consciousness in the arrivals hall before she collected her luggage, and died on her way to hospital. A post mortem examination showed the cause of her death was DVT, a pulmonary embolism or blood clot which forms in a vein, usually in the leg, and works its way into the heart or lungs where it causes sudden death.

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Her mother said: "We were told she died from sitting in the cramped seat of a jumbo jet for such a long time. I'd never heard of the condition before but passengers on long flights suffer from reduced circulation and that can cause a blood clot.

She said: "It had always been an ambition of hers to see Australia and she said she had loved her holiday and had a great time. She rang to say she had been parachute jumping and scuba diving. She loved the outdoor life.

She said: "I don't see why the dangers could not be spelled out during the normal safety warnings just before take-off."

Tim Stuart, 35, Miss Christoffersen's fiance, said: "Emma was fit and active and a non-smoker - all of the things not usually associated with sufferers of DVT. It's not as if she had never been on a plane before. We had been on holiday to the States twice and Barbados on long-haul flights."

The Aviation Health Institute, which researches air deaths, is sending a five-point plan to the minister for aviation aimed at cutting deaths from DVT. A director, Farrol Kahn, said airlines and travel agencies should provide an aspirin with every ticket. He said: "I would also advise airplane passengers to exercise the lower leg and foot and to get up and walk the aisles occasionally."

Sally Martin, Qantas's general manager for Britain and Ireland, said: "Our sincere sympathies are with Emma's family. The safety of our passengers is always of paramount importance and we do refer to the possible effects of flying in our in-flight magazine." The magazine advises passengers to prevent slowing the blood circulation by moving "legs and feet for three or four minutes per hour".